Finding balance in 2013

As 2013 crept in, I was afraid to appraise 2012 because I felt I may come up with more failures and mistakes than successes. I watched months in 2012 pass. It was as if I was in a ride I had lost control of. I could not stop the vehicle and at the same time I could not determine which directions to take. I was just in motion.

My life was filled with distractions and my goals for the year were thrown out of the window. I existed through 2012. I only managed to do the necessary things such as be at work, and get the basic jobs done. My work consists of teaching, research and administration. I managed to teach and administrate. These fall under the category of urgent and important. I was also buried under the urgent but not important things of life. The important but not urgent were left not done.

The important but not urgent are usually what make us who we are. I am a writer but did not do much of writing in 2012. Even this blog was forgotten. I was struggling to find a balance amidst them all. I kept struggling until December when I understood what balance was all about.

Balance can only be achieved by doing the will of the Father. If I am on a journey pursuing my own interests, there is the tendency the ride can get out of control. My priorities will be misplaced. I will get distracted. Back in 2012, I would jump up and go about daily business. But you know what? The day could be better managed, if I first start by inviting God; seeking his will concerning the day. Then I can rest knowing he will help me manage the day effectively. When I don’t invite him, when I focus on the day rather than on him, I struggle through the day. I would be overwhelmed. At the end, I would wallow into self-pity. I would be on the edge, easily offended and having all sorts of stresses day in day out. The days would appear busy and lacking pleasures. I would be mentally, physically and emotionally drained.

I can’t strike a balance in my life when the vital element is missing. I can’t find balance if I am disobedient to God. I can’t find rest if I dishonor God. I won’t be able to get to where I am going, sit down and find rest if I remove God from the equation. God ought to be the beginning and the end. He ought to be the subject of the equation and the solution/answer to the equation. If I seek balance, then I should make doing God’s will my focus. I ought to desire at all times to please God in all I do; honor him in my words and thoughts as well.

Hence, as I seek to do my Father’s will, I will find balance. There will be serenity in all aspects of my life. I rest in God. Resting in God means ability to sleep in the storm. Resting in God also means I trust him to handle all that comes my way. I have faith in him - faith as solid as a rock.

There may be unpleasant things happening around me but I will be unshaken because he who sacrificed his son on the cross for me will not withhold anything good from me. He is the best I can have. So rest I will. In him I shall find balance.

Have you found balance in your life? So please share what it means for you to find balance.